Electric-lamp socket.



G. W. GOO'DRIDGE 6L G. B. THOMAS.

ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET. APPLICATION FILED IAN.26. I9I5...

1 177,3 1 9; PaIeIIIed Mar. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

G. W. GOODRIDGE 1 G. B. THOMAS.

ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET.

v APPLICATION FILED IAN. 26, 1915.

Patented Mar. '28,1916'.

3 .m n. w ...n 5 w www. uw 3p n .T. m a 2 www TE 5.1%/ M .r w e GILBERT W. lGIOODRIDGIE AND GEORGE B. THOMAS, 0F BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT,

ASSIGNORSTO THE BRYANT ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF IBRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT,

A CORPORATION F CONNECTICUT.

ELECTRIC-LAMP SOCKET.

iitaaia.

Application filed January 2G, 1915. Serial No.

To @ZZ whom t may concern Specication of Letters Patent.

Be it known that we, GILBERT W. GooD- RIDGE and GEORGE B. THOMAS, both citizens of the United States of America, and both 4 residing at Bridgeport,v in the county of' ment in Electric-Lamp Sockets, of which the i.

following is a specication. x v

Our invention relates to electric lamp sockets and particularly to combined" sockets and shade holders, the Aobject of our invention being to provide an improved device of this character having the features of novelty hereinafter pointed 'out and shown in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a broken sectional elevation of a key socket in which our invention is illustratively'enibodied; Fig. 2 is a plan of the lamp-receiving end thereof; Fig. 3 is a partial elevation of the porcelain body of the socket; Fig. 4 is a section therethrough on the line 4 4, Fig. 2, to show the switch spindle and key, the thumb piece being shown detached; Fig. is a section on the line 5-5, Fig. 2, to show the wire passages to the front of the socket; Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective views of the electrical connections to the switch terminal and screw shell terminal respectively; Fig. 8 is a plan of the inner end of the insulating body of the socket; Fig. 9 is an interior plan of the inner button of the socket body; and Fig. 10 is an interior plan of thevouter button of the sucket body.'

In the construction here shown the present socket comprises a one-piece metallicl casing 10 closed at one end except. for the nipple 11 through which the wires 12 and 13 are led to the interior and by which the fitting may be mounted on-any suitable support such asa Patent-eu Mar. as, isis. 4,457.

outwardly spread inner end 21 of the latter, is provided with feet 22 resting in seats 23 in the insulating body'16 and tapped to receive the securing screws 24 by which the body is helid within the casing. In switched sockets, such as here shown, the socket body comprises a pair of insulating buttons a and bperforated in register to permit the passage of the securing screws 24 therethrough.

The well 25 in the outer face of button o is l of greater diameter than the screw hole to aiiord a shoulder for the screw head, while the inner end of the hole through this button b is also enlarged to afford a well 26 for the reception of a split washer 27 on the screw 24 by which the latter is restrained from wells 30 and 31 in the front or lamp-receiving end of the Ysocket body. The well 30 forms merely abay opening from the main well 32 in which the screw shell terminal 33 is seated and secured by the two screws 34,

35. rIhe heads of thelatter rest in recesses 36, 37 (Fig. 10) on the inner face of they button Z) and passing through the button and .the base anges 38 of the screw shell take wire conduit, fixture pipe or the like in well-V understood' fashion. The opposite end of the casing is voutwardly flared at 14 to afford a rounded shoulder against which 'a correspondingly shaped Hare 15 of the insulating body 16 of the receptacle fits. This end of the casing is further extended beyond the end of the body 16 as a ring 17 adapted to receive th usualv bead of a shade holder which is `engaged and held by any suitable means, such as the set screws 18, carried by,

the ring 17. A bridge-like bracket 19 secured; -the'casing '10, against the eX'- ,terior shoulder 20 of the nipple." l1 by the into tapped holes in the usual. reinforcing yoke 39 (Fig. 2). Seated in the bay 30 to -one'side of the wire passage 28 is the angled end 40 of a strap 41, carrying the binding screw 42 beneath the head of which the bared end of the wire 13 is secured. |The strap passes down in the well'32 outside the.

screw shell 33 and its'inner end 43 is angled into a seat beneath the screw shell terminal 33 and perforated to permit lthe passage of the screw 34 therethrough. The screw shell is thus constantly in electrical connection with the wire 13. 1

The well 31 is electrically isolated by the barrier 44 from the screw shell 33. In it is seated, to one side of the wire passage 2 9, a terminal plate 45 carryin,f: ;-the binding screw 46 by which the bared end of wire 12 is electrically connected to the`terminal plate.

illustrated, the socket is provided with a v7 0 dropping out when it is unscrewed from the Where, as in the construction here p plate 49 and is clamped against switch, connection is established between this terminal i-late and one ot the switch contacts. The paiticular switch mechanism employed forms in general, no part of our invention and that here shown is of the commontype described in the patent to Perkins No. 62h92?, ot June lil, 1899 "which is desirable as affording a wide break on the opening ot the switch. (lui-rent is led to the switch terminal dT 'troni the plate 45:5 through the bolt i8 which not only secures said plate in position but also secures upon the inner face ot button l1, the strap i9. One end of the switch terminal l?, which as a whole is guided in the recess 50 on meeting face of button e, overlies a tapped portion of the the same by a screw 5l which passes tlnough the button a, and a registering hole 52 in the terminal 4T and takes into the tapped plate a9. The switch block 58 makes and breaks Contact withv the terminal el? in well understood` manner on the rotation of the switch spindle 5i. lVhen in position to make contact the current is led through the switch block, :trame 55 and screw 5G to the center contact 57 of the socket, thus completing the circuit through the lamp inserted therein.

lVhei-e the casing is one piece as here shown, it is obviously impossible to adjustv the same upon the lamp body if the latter carries the usual switch key, since this would necessitate the slotting of the casing to an extent which would render it unmarketable. This diiieulty has been overcome by making the key detachable from the socket body and providing means -iior securing the same to the switch spindle after the socket body has been adjusted within its casing. To this end the switch spindle is provided at its outer end with a thimble 59 lying in the passage formed by the cooperating recesses 60 and Gl. on the meetiim` faces of the limito-ns n, and Z1. The outer end of the thiml'ile transversely slotted at 62, this slot terminating in an enlarged recess 63 in the bodyT of" the thimble. Cooperating with this thimble, the thumb piece or key 58 has a shank Gil; with diametrically opposite wings G5 adapted to pass 'through the slot G2 in the thimble and enter the enlargement ('33 thereof. The wings are of slightly greater thickness than the width of the slot, 62 so that slight pressureis necessary to force the thimble open and permit the wings to pass through the slot. In adjusted' position. the wings bear against thesides of the enlargement {3f} and rotate the spindle in either"direction to operate the switch, while they are normally held against escape by reason of the `tact that it necessary to eX- ert some torce to witlulraw them through the slot (32. Obviously with this construction it is onlyv necessary to provide a hole 6G in the casing which shall register with the invasie passage arlorded by the recesses 60 and 61 in the socket body when the latter is in adjusted position, The thumb piece 58 may then be inserted through the hole 66 until. the wings on its shank pass through the slot 62 into the enlargement (i3, whereupon the switch may be operated by turning the key in either direction.

he two buttons a and l) of the insulating body are marketed in permanently assembled condition, with the head of the screw 5l waxed-in as Aalso the head of the bolt G7 which passes up .through both buttons and takes into the nut 68 waxed in its seat in the button a. The two buttons are thus held together, on one side by the bolt 48, strap 49 and screw 5l and on the other side by the straight through bolt 67 and its nut 68.

The Vmanner of installing the device is readily understood. The wires having been pulled through'the conduit and exposed, the shell 10 is secured to the threaded end of the conduit by screwing the nipple 1l thereon and fastening it by means ot' the set screw 69 in such position that the thumb piece 58 is readily accessible. rlhe wires 12 and 18 are then passed through their respective passages 28 and 29 in the insulating body 1G which is shoved up and adjusted with the bracket feet 22 resting in the seats 23. T he two securing screws 2d are then screwed into the bracket feet thus holding the socket body rigid with the shell. The ends of the wires are bared and clamped down beneath the binding screws 42 i6 and any extra length of wire cut orf. The shank ofthe key 58 is then pushed through the hole 66 `in the shell and into engagement with .thel split thinible 59 on the spindle, which is held in register with the hole in the shell by the predetermined position of the bracket 19 with relation thereto. The installation is thus complete.

The construction shown is an illustrative embodiment of our invention', but Various changes may be made therein without departing from what we claim as our invention. I v

We claim as our invention l. An electric lamp socket, comprising a one-piece metallic casing, an insulating body within 4the same and recessed at one end, lamp contacts located in said recess and carf ried by said body, said contacts comprising a center contact and a screw shell contact, in combination with wire terminals mounted on said body youtside the. area of the screw shell at the lamp-receiving end ot the socket and screw mean" piercing the socket body 15 outside the screw shell area and .accessible from the lamp-receiving end ofthe socket for holding said body within the casing.

2. An electric lamp socket comprising a metallic casing, an insulatingbody within the same and recessed at one end to\form a well, screw shell and center contacts mounted within said well and surrounded thereby,

together with a pair of wire terminals center contact within said shell contact, `in

the lamp-receiving end of the nsulating body on opposite sides of said screw shell contact and electrical connections to the respective lamp contacts.

il. An electric lamp socket, comprising a metallic casing, an insulating body within the same and recessed at one end, lamp contacts mounted within said recess and com? prising a center contact and a screw shell contact, in combination with wire terminals mounted on said body outside the area of said recess and at the lamp-receiving end of the socket; A

5. An electric lamp socket, comprising a metallic casing, an insulating body within the same recessed at one end to atford a well to receive a screw shell lamp contact, a bay opening from said well, a wire terminal lying in said bay and electrically connected to said screw shell, together with a recess let into the lamp-receiving end of said body on the opposite side of the screw shell from said bay, a wire .terminal seated in said recess and electrically insulated from said shell, a center lamp contact and electrical therefrom vconnections between said wire terminal and center lamp contact.

6. An electric lamp socket comprising a metallic casing, an insulating body within the same, lamp terminals wire terminals mounted at in said recess, a.,

assembled position. combination with wire terminals mounted at .lng apertured in line carried thereby,. the lamp-receiving end of the body, Wire passages through the bodyopening to the lamp-receiving end of the latter adjacent the Wire terminals, and a switch arranged between at least one of said Wire terminals and its lamp contact.

7. `In an electric lamp socket, a casing, a socket body within the casing, a switch spindle carried by said body, the casing being apertured in line withrsaid spindle, an operating thumb-piece sleeved on said spindle and a spring catchV device for holds ing said thumb piece and spindle in 8. In an electric lamp socket, a casing, ,al socket body within the casing, a switch spindle carried by said body, the casingbewith said spindle, and an operating thumb-piece detachably connected with said spindle, said connection being established through a wing v piece carried by one of said members, and a thimble carried by the other member and having an operating seat for said Wingpiece and having slots leading to said seat through which said Wing-piece may be forcibly introduced'to and spring-locked in said seat, substantially as described.

9. An electric lamp socket, comprising a one-piece casing having an aperture for the passage of a switch operating member. therethrough, an insulating socket body carrying Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing thel0ommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

whereof we have signed our i 

